Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 21,806 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 72,054 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,806 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $1,012,530,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $585,192,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck’s tulisokibart met its endpoint in a Phase 3 ulcerative colitis study, strengthening confidence in the company’s immunology pipeline and offering a possible future growth driver. Merck’s Anti-TL1A Antibody Meets Goal in Ulcerative Colitis Study
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Keytruda in combination with Padcev for cisplatin-ineligible patients with resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer, which could support oncology sales and broaden Keytruda’s international use. European Commission Approves KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus Padcev®
• Positive Sentiment: CICC Research initiated coverage on Merck with an outperform rating and a $138 price target, signaling Wall Street expects further upside from current levels. Benzinga report on CICC coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi maintained its hold rating on Merck, suggesting a more cautious view but no major change in the stock thesis. Citi Keeps Their Hold Rating on Merck & Company (MRK)
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank reaffirmed its buy rating on Merck, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop. Scotiabank Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Merck & Company (MRK)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. CICC Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:MRK opened at $120.74 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.01, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $115.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.